Everton are close to signing the Ukraine left-back Vitaliy Mykolenko from Dynamo Kyiv in a €21m (£17.9m) deal that could rise to €23m with add-ons.
The 22-year-old is due to complete a medical on Friday after agreeing terms on a five-year deal. His arrival could pave the way for the departure of Lucas Digne, who was recently dropped by Rafael Benítez and declared himself unavailable for Thursday’s draw at Chelsea because of illness.
Mykolenko has spent his whole career with Dynamo and is a Ukraine international, playing four times at Euro 2020, including as a wing-back in the 4-0 defeat by England in the quarter-finals.
He made his league debut in August 2017 and his fee is by some distance the largest spent by Everton since Benítez took over as manager this summer, when the £1.7m Demarai Gray and free transfers were signed. “I think we will have some money to spend but I don’t think that will be too much,” the manager said last month.
